So you wanna be an animal..or partially an animal..fine, you just want ears because they’re super cute and you’re over the faun thing. I’ve got your back. Of course, there are tons of different ears out there and there are simpler ways to do this, but…let’s take our ears up to 11. Or 7.

What you need:

• fabric for the interior and exterior of your ears (this can vary depending on what you want but I used faux fur and felt)
• plastic canvas
• armature wire
• sewing machine, thread, needles, scissors

First! Figure out the shape of your animal’s ears. Remember, ears aren’t flat (usually). They’re fully three-dimensional body parts. Play around with some paper first and figure out what you want them to look like.

I chose rabbit ears. I could do this more easily by flattening them but I wanted them more realistic. I cut out the pieces.

I cut out 2 pieces for the interior of the ear of felt, 2 for the exterior of faux fur, and I also cut out 2 pattern pieces out of plastic canvas. The plastic canvas…let’s talk about that for a sec. Plastic canvas is that stuff that old ladies make tissue box covers out of or book marks. Not insulting them, we’re just using it for a different purpose. Try to buy the plastic canvas with the finest or smallest grid possible. We’ll be using this on the inside of the ears as a support for the ear, the “cartilage” if you will. Just trust me on this.

Sew your ear fabrics together, right sides in. Flip them right-sides out. They’re pretty cute just like that! But…let’s push ourselves further.

Look at my nail polish! I’m in love with it. But back to business. Now here is where the whole process sloooooowwwwssss way down. You want to stitch your armature wire to the plastic canvas. Leave at least 4 inches of wire on both ends of the plastic canvas. But why are we wasting our time with this? It makes perfect sense! I promise. Basically, what I’m trying to do here is eliminate a need for extra stitching on the outside of the ear once it’s finished and allow the wire to move the entire ear with the plastic canvas support like a real ear would move. You’ll also be able to position and reposition this all you want.

Stick the whole plastic canvas/wire thingy inside the pocket of your ears. Whoa! You’ve got ears! I left a few inches of wire on both ends of the plastic canvas. This is important because you can then either wrap the wire around a headband and plop it on your head OR you can stick the wires through a wig and onto a headband for support and an invisible way to attach it. You could also sew it directly onto a wig. My ears are too tall for this and need the extra support of a headband under my wig, but whatever you choose to do is all personal preference.

You should totally add a flower crown because that will be all like woodland creature royalty stuff. Just saying.

Nerd Girl Cosplay - www.facebook.com/nerdgirlcosplay